Psalms 81:2

Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Take	שְֽׂאוּ se.'u-	H5375	to lift · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
psalm	זִ֭מְרָה Zim.rah	H2172	a musical piece or song to be accompanied by an instrum… · noun, common feminine singular absolute
bring	וּתְנוּ u.te.nu-	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
timbrel	תֹ֑ף Tof	H8596	a tambourine · noun, common masculine singular absolute
pleasant	נָעִ֣ים na.'Im	H5273	delightful (objective or subjective · adjective, masculine singular absolute
harp	כִּנּ֖וֹר ki.Nor	H3658	a harp · noun, common masculine singular construct
psaltery	נָֽבֶל Na.vel	H5035	a skin-bag for liquids (from collapsing when empty) · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 149:1-3 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Psalms 92:3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing…
Exodus 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with danc…
Mark 14:26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Psalms 95:1-2 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 81:1-7

When the people of God were gathered together in the solemn day, the day of the feast of the Lord, they must be told that they had business to do, for we do not go to church to sleep nor to be idle; no, there is that which the duty of every day requires, work of the day, which is to be done in its day. And here, I. The worshippers of God are excited to their work, and are taught, by singing this psalm, to stir up both themselves and one another to it, Psa 81:1-3. Our errand is, to give unto God the glory due unto his name, and in all our religious assemblies we must mind this as our business. 1. In doing this we must eye God as our strength, and as the God of Jacob, Psa 81:1. He is the stren…

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John Gill on Psalms 81:2

Take a psalm,.... Or "lift one up" (y); hold up the book, and read and sing it; or rather, lift up the voice in singing a psalm: and bring hither the timbrel; or "give one" (z), put the hand to one: the pleasant harp with the psaltery; make use of all these musical instruments in singing, and so make an agreeable melody: these were used in the times of the Old Testament, and were typical of the spiritual joy and melody in the heart, expressed by vocal singing, under the New Testament; see Revelation 5:8. (y) "attollite", Piscator; "tollite", Cocceius, Amama, Gejerus. (z) "date", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

John Calvin on Psalms 81:1-7

Psalm 81:1-3 1. Sing joyfully to God our strength sing with a loud voice: to the God of Jacob. 2. Raise a song, [402] and bring forth the tabret, the pleasant harp, with the psaltery. [403] 3. Sound the trumpet at the new moon; at the time appointed on the day of our sacrifice. [404] 4. For this is a statute to Israel, a law to the God of Jacob. 5. He set it for a testimony in Joseph, when he went forth over [or above] the land of Egypt: I heard a language which I understood not. 6. I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the pots. [405] 7. Thou didst cry in trouble, and I delivered thee: I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters o…

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The Church Fathers

"Take the Psalm and give the tabret" [Psalm 81:2]. Both "take," and "give." What is, "take"? What, "give"? "Take the Psalm, and give the tabret." The Apostle Paul says in a certain place, [Philippians 4:15] reproving and grieving, that no one had communicated with him in the matter of giving and receiving. What is, "in the matter of giving and receiving," but that which he has openly set forth in another place. [1 Corinthians 9:11] "If we have sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your carnal things." And it is true that a tabret, which is made of hide, belongs to the flesh. The Psalm, therefore, is spiritual, the tabret, carnal. Therefore, people of God, congregation of God, "take ye the Psalm, and give the tabret:" take ye spiritual things, and give carnal. This also is what at that blessed Martyr's table we exhorted you, that receiving spiritual things ye should give carnal. For these which are built for the time, are needful for receiving the bodies either of the living or of the dead, but in time that is passing by. Shall we after God's judgment take up these buildings to Heaven? Yet without these we shall not be able to do at this time the things which belong to the possessing of Heaven. If therefore you are eager in getting spiritual things, be ye devout in expending carnal things. "Take the Psalm, and give the tabret:" take our voice, return your hands.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 81

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Gittith — A stringed instrument of music. This word is found in the titles of Ps. 8, 81, 84. In these places the LXX. render the word by “on the wine-fats.” The Targum explains by “on the harp which David…
Harp · Used in worship — Used in worship
Psaltery · Used in religious services — Used in religious services
Timbrel · Used in religious services — Used in religious services

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 81:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 81:1-7

John Gill on Psalms 81:2

John Calvin on Psalms 81:1-7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 81:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 81:1-7

John Gill on Psalms 81:2

John Calvin on Psalms 81:1-7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 81:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 81:2

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 81:2